Cole: I'll stop Ronaldo

Ashley Cole today promised Cristiano Ronaldo some special treatment as England began preparing for their Euro 2004 quarter-final showdown with hosts Portugal on Thursday.

Following the euphoria of last night's Wayne Rooney inspired 4-2 victory over Croatia, the England and Arsenal defender admitted the way to unsettle Portugal and Manchester United's teenage star was to hit him with a hard tackle early in the game.

The match will be billed as Rooney versus Ronaldo as the youngsters have been the stars of the tournament so far.

Following the Everton striker's two sensational goals last night, England revealed that they intend to protect the 18-year-old from the euphoria in the coming days.

Although he made a brief television appearance, he did not appear in front of the rest of the media and Sven-Goran Eriksson will wrap him in cotton wool in the run-up to the Portugal match. Cole still vividly recalls marking Ronaldo last season in the Premiership and believes he has learned from it.

"It will be a tough experience playing against him because he looks to be playing with a lot of confidence," Cole said. "But I'm looking forward to it. Last season they gave him the ball in the first 10 minutes, he did his tricks and I slipped over a few times. After that, though, I gave him a hard tackle and he was gone, to be honest.

"He's difficult to mark because he can go inside, outside. You don't want to be too close to him because he will do a stepover and go past you.

"Hopefully, we can defend well as a team and get a result. It's not just a one-man team because they have many good players but we're confident.

"We played them in a friendly back in February and although neither team was at full strength, I feel we dealt with them quite well."

Cole was a member of the England team which lost to Brazil, coached by Portugal boss Luiz Felipe Scolari, in the quarter-finals of the World Cup two years ago. "I remember it well," Cole said. "We owe him one."

Meanwhile, as Rooneymania was gripping the nation, Gary Neville revealed the other England players were doing their best to protect their team-mate.

"We don't want him to come down to earth yet but we'll tell him to rest," said Neville.

"Everything has been said about him but what really opened my eyes was his performance against France and world class defenders."

Rooney's England team-mate and close friend Steven Gerrard believes his pal was "the best in Europe" while Eriksson said no player had made such an impact on a tournament since Pele in the1958 World Cup finals in Sweden.

Eriksson, mindful of Rooney's yellow card in the match against Switzerland, substituted the young striker in the second half to ensure he would be eligible to play on Thursday. He is likely to be kept under wraps now until the quarter-finals back in the Estadio da Luz in two days.

France, as Group B winners, have an extra day's rest before they play Greece on Friday but Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, who scored his second goal of the tournament, said: "I don't think it will make much difference. It's such a huge game that it takes care of itself. We could play today if we had to."

David Beckham was limping noticeably after the game but said he would be fit on Thursday.

"I got a kick on the same ankle that has been giving me trouble but it won't be a problem," he said.

Beckham revealed that he has been talking regularly to his Real Madrid team-mate and Portugal captain Luis Figo during the tournament. "We've been wishing each other good luck but I don't think that will happen before Thursday," he added.

John Terry is another England injury problem before the quarter-final but the Chelsea defender is also confident he will be fit.

He said: "I went up to head the ball and landed on one leg. The knee locked up on me but I don't think it will be a problem.

"We watched Portugal beat Spain and they looked a good side with some talented individuals. Having said that, though, there is a great belief in this England team."